Ravenna, City of Mosaics, UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Partnership with EnChroma and Fondazione Paolina Brugnatelli, Enables Color Blind Visitors to Rediscover the Colors of Mosaics

Opera di Religione della Diocesi di Ravenna, EnChroma, manufacturers of lenses for color blind users, Francesca Carlone, sustainable designer and founder of the project, Fondazione Paolina Brugnatelli and ITRIA announce today an initiative to enhance the experience of color blind visitors. Starting July 19, 2024, visitors with this vision condition will be able to borrow special glasses during their visit to live for the first time the experience of seeing light and bright color mosaics. The project, called ColoRaMi - color mosaics, will be introduced on July 19 at Basilica di Sant’Apollinare Nuovo as part of the Ravenna Mosaici FOR ALL program.

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Basilica di San Vitale: Agnus Dei. Normal colour vision and colour blind view (Graphic: Business Wire)

In Italy, approximately 2.5 million people are color blind, a vision condition affecting a higher number of men (8%) vs. women (0.5%) and approximately 350 million people worldwide. Whereas people with normal color vision can see over one million shades of color, people with color vision deficit only see 10% of tones and shades. As a result, colors can appear dull or even indistinguishable. EnChroma lenses allow people with deuteranomaly and protanomaly to perceive a much wider range of colors.

Artistic and cultural heritage is enhanced also by improving its accessibility, safety, and inclusiveness. Thanks to ColoRaMi, Ravenna's Mosaics will be the world's first mosaics to be made accessible to color blind people. Starting Friday, July 19, EnChroma glasses will be distributed free of charge at the following locations: Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Basilica of San Vitale, Neonian Baptistry, Archiepiscopal Museum, and Sant’Andrea Chapel, thus enabling visitors to see for the first time the mosaics in all their chromatic complexity.

The opening event on July 19, at 3:00 p.m. will host a “live reveal” event, in which a number of color blind participants will share the daily challenges of color blindness and the difference made by EnChroma lenses in their viewing experience of the multicolor nuances of the mosaics.

EVENT INFO:

When: Friday, July 19 at 3:00 p.m.
Where: Basilica of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo

What's a Live Reveal:

A "Live Reveal" is an opportunity for volunteers to test EnChroma glasses for the first time and share their experience. At the end of the day, the volunteers may keep their custom-made glasses.

About EnChroma glasses:

EnChroma glasses are the product of two NIH research grants and of clinical studies conducted at UC Berkeley and UC Davis, USA. In 2016, EnChroma glasses were awarded the Tibbetts Award by the U.S. Small Business Administration for their innovative technology-driven impact on individual experience. EnChroma glasses use special optical filters that help people with color vision deficiency (protanomaly and deuteranomaly) experience a wider range of colors, perceiving them as more accurate, brighter, and sharper. Please note: EnChroma glasses do not treat color blindness and work for 9 out of 10 color blind wearers.

The original source-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the source-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240714597763/en/